Chapter 125: Tang Clan's Paper Flower

Tang Nanah originally had no friends.

Friendship implies a relationship between equals, but within the Tang Clan, there was simply no one who existed on the same level as Tang Nanah.

As the unofficial, undisputed Number One in the Tang hierarchy, everyone from the Clan Lord himself down to the most senior elders were, in her eyes, just worthless beings beneath her feet.

And if that was true within the confines of the mighty Sichuan Tang Clan, then naturally, she had absolutely no rivals or equals anywhere in the outside world either.

Instead, when she occasionally needed something from someone, her typical method involved pulling them up from under her feet, figuratively placing them above her head, and showering them with calculated flattery and aegyo. But recently, the 'sister-in-law' [^(Referring to Peng Choryeo)] she had been diligently working on promoting had effectively betrayed her and simply left.

However, in her place, Nanah had now acquired something vaguely resembling a friend. (Having never actually possessed a real friend in her entire life, Nanah herself wasn't entirely sure about the classification). It fit the old proverb "fortune is fickle" – as one horse flees, another unexpectedly arrives to take its place.

And now that she finally had a potential friend, there was one specific activity she had always desperately wanted to try…

Tang Nanah arrogantly extended a delicate finger, pointing directly at Qing.

“Hey. You.”

It was a sudden, rather rude pointing gesture, but Qing mostly just let it slide.

By now, she understood that while the girl might be inherently ill-mannered, she didn't seem to possess any particular active malice—just spoiled brat syndrome.

These days, the little Chihuahua seemed to have become somewhat tamed anyway, constantly hovering around Qing, seemingly looking for opportunities to offer snacks or unsolicited advice. Honestly, how could Qing truly hate someone so pathetic?

“What?” Qing replied warily.

“Sleep with me today.”

“Gasp!” Qing startled, genuinely shocked. “Whoa! If you come at me so suddenly like that…”

Of course, unlike poor Jin Jangmyeong back in the day, Tang Nanah was a full-fledged twenty-two-year-old adult, fully possessing her own sexual autonomy, Qing supposed… but still!

As Qing instinctively drew back slightly, Tang Nanah’s delicate eyebrows shot up, her eyes flashing dangerously.

“What? You don’t want to?”

“How can a young lady possibly suggest such a thing?” Qing countered, falling back on traditional etiquette. “Men and women should maintain proper separation!”

“What, so you don’t want to…?”

Nanah repeated, the same words, but this time her shoulders slumped dramatically, her expression crumpling into a wounded pout.

She asked again, her voice trembling slightly,

“You… you’re not really close to me… are you…?”

“Uh,” Qing hesitated. “Well, if we absolutely had to categorize it in black and white terms, I suppose we’d lean towards the ‘close’ side?”

“Then why not?!” Nanah demanded petulantly. “Aren’t close friends supposed to sleep together?!”

“Oing?” Qing blinked, utterly confused now. “Why would that be? Is that some kind of weird Central Plains custom?”

“Ha! You’re so ignorant!” Nanah scoffed, regaining some confidence. “Have you not even finished reading the Basic Teachings?!” [^(A foundational primer on Neo-Confucian ethics and etiquette, compiled by Zhu Xi, widely used for educating children.)]

According to the Basic Teachings, the textbook for well-bred children throughout the Central Plains, the righteous bond that siblings should uphold is explained thusly:

When sleeping, cover yourselves with the same blanket. When eating, share food from the same table.

The practice of using separate clothes and food between brothers is something only uncivilized barbarians, not proper human offspring, would possibly do!

(At this particular juncture, astute readers might note that Zhu Xi [^(Influential Chinese philosopher, primary compiler of Sohak)], while a renowned master of Neo-Confucianism, also appears to have been a fairly serious racist.

However, in this specific era, discrimination against perceived ‘barbarians’ was considered perfectly natural and acceptable by both those perpetrating it and those subjected to it.

It was a time when folk tales frequently circulated about simple acts of kindness shown towards a barbarian being repaid later with unwavering, life-saving loyalty.)

At any rate, Zhu Xi hadn't invented Neo-Confucianism; he had primarily compiled and systemized existing doctrines.

The Basic Teachings wasn't a novel filled with original ideas, but rather a carefully curated compilation—a children’s recommended reader, essentially—beautifully collecting the perceived virtues and social norms of that particular era.

And the section about sleeping in one bed under one blanket perfectly illustrated this.

Roughly speaking, even a thousand years before Zhu Xi lived, sharing one bed and one blanket was already considered a standard, beautiful illustration of siblings possessing the absolute highest level of fraternal affection and trust.

The famous Three Sworn Brothers from Romance of the Three Kingdoms [^(Classic Chinese historical novel)]—Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei—famously solidified and advertised their unwavering brotherhood precisely by always sharing one bed.

Liu Bei himself apparently often used this tactic later when attempting to win the loyalty of potential subjects or officials; a casual invitation like, ‘Why don’t you just stay and sleep here with me tonight?’ would reportedly cause the recipient to burst into floods of grateful tears, triggering an eruption of unwavering loyalty.

It was apparently a calculated scheme designed to evoke the overwhelming emotional response of, ‘Ah! My lord considers me not just a subject, but truly as his own brother!’

Of course, most psychologically normal people wouldn’t actually burst into tears of joy simply because another man invited them to stay the night.

The whole ‘one bed, one blanket’ tradition likely stemmed from the practical necessity of filial piety for poor parents who couldn't afford separate rooms or bedding for all their children.

However, boastfulness and the performative emulation of famous historical anecdotes were practically core cultural traits of the Zhonghua people.

They loved to follow the examples set in famous stories, and then utilize the retelling of their own experiences (“I did this famous thing too!”) to elevate their own status and reputation.

Thus, even those subjects who merely slept platonically near Liu Bei reportedly made it a point of immense pride to pass down the story for generations, telling their children and grandchildren,

“Listen! Your great-great-grandfather! Your revered ancestor! He actually slept with the great Liu Bei himself!”

(As an aside, in terms of legendary friendships within the Central Plains, the bond between Sun Ce and Zhou Yu [^(Sworn brothers and key figures during the late Han Dynasty/Three Kingdoms period)] was actually considered by some historians to be even deeper and more profound than that of Liu Bei’s famous trio.

They were renowned for their original, incredibly close friendship, reportedly even abandoning their respective wives at times to share one bed. However, this particular bromance wasn’t nearly as popular or well-known among the Korean people of Qing’s original world, hence its relative obscurity.)

“Ah. What?” Qing blinked again, finally processing Nanah’s explanation. “So that’s what you meant?”

Okay. So it’s not the creepy ‘we’ll just hold hands and sleep, I promise!’ kind of sleeping.

And definitely not the ‘hold hands which eventually leads to other stuff’ kind of sleeping either.

It’s just… literally a cultural thing about friends purely sleeping in the same space while chatting? Huh.

But still… what does brotherly love have to do with friendship between girls?

Qing thought, still slightly confused because she didn't know the nuances.

In fact, within the Central Plains, the concept of deep, true friendship was often used interchangeably with, and considered equivalent to, the bond between sworn brothers.

The unique Zhonghua cultural concept of Guanxi [^(Social networks, connections, and influential relationships)] was practically codified law (No, it wasn't) and possessed its own detailed, systematic levels and hierarchies.

Guanxi Level 1: Friend - Essentially just an acquaintance.

Level 2: Good Friend - Where actual friendship begins.

Level 3: Old Friend - Signifies a deeper connection where Guanxi expansion starts; the level where one could formally introduce their own acquaintances into the network.

(In martial artist terms, roughly equivalent to reaching the First-Rate Realm.

Level 4: Brother - Reaching the level considered family.

From this stage onward, even if the connection was purely based on Guanxi, they were referred to as family, making it a stage where casually ending the relationship became socially unacceptable.

Level 5: Sworn Brother - The highest level, a legendary achievement.

This was the highest stage and a legendary achievement.

Uniquely, Sworn Brothers were often considered even above actual blood brothers, signifying that a bond consciously chosen and sworn through mutual judgment was potentially even more profound and reliable than one determined merely by birth.

(Terms naturally varied by age/gender: Sworn Sisters, Sworn Father/Mother, etc.). This was also a characteristic feature.

Of course, the Central Plains depicted here were still somewhat primitive China; these social relationship dynamics weren't nearly as rigidly formalized or potentially corrupt as they might become in the future bureaucratic systems Qing recalled from her original world.

For now, it was still more of a general feeling, an intuitive understanding, rather than the deeply entrenched, potentially oppressive social malpractice of later eras.

Tang Nanah, with the sharp intelligence befitting a skilled traditional physician, immediately saw through Qing’s confusion.

(Though, even without a doctor’s keen insight, Qing’s utterly clueless expression was probably readable by anyone possessing functional eyes.)

“Originally,” Nanah explained patiently, deciding to press her advantage, “it’s just common sense here for close friends to sleep in the same bed under the same blanket, you know? Don’t tell me… you don’t actually have any friends?”

“Huh?” Qing frowned. “That’s common sense…? Well, now that I think about it…”

It was true. The few female friends Qing had made since arriving in the Central Plains had seemed oddly interested in coveting her bed space.

Jin Jangmyeong used to show up almost every night clutching a pillow, hoping to crash. And her Senior Sister Wannabe (Crutch) had tried a few times too before eventually giving up and just settling for coming into Qing’s room first thing in the morning to help her change clothes instead.

Qing still felt unsure.

Okay, maybe very close same-sex friends could sometimes share a bed platonically, but surely that couldn’t be considered universal common sense?

It was, in fact, Tang Nanah’s wicked little lie, a calculated gamble designed to leverage Qing’s social ignorance and elevate their tentative 'friendship' to a much closer level at this opportune moment.

Though her appearance was undeniably beautiful, Nanah was, at her core, a ruthless villainess who wouldn't hesitate to employ any means necessary—including blatant deception—to achieve her goals.

She was a scary child, capable of telling such atrocious lies without even batting an eyelash, utterly shameless.

Her evil deeds arguably couldn't quite be compared to those of the greatest Demonic Leaders under heaven… but maybe they weren't that far off either?

Qing looked again at Tang Nanah, who was fidgeting slightly now, looking genuinely anxious and unsure of herself.

Well, Qing conceded internally with a sigh, her family is in serious danger right now; of course she’d be anxious and maybe act a little clingy.

And even Peng Choryeo specifically told me to take good care of her…

It was also rather pitiful, seeing her just slumped over all day with nothing to do now that the clinic was empty, practically begging someone to play with her.

Qing finally grinned and answered.

“No friends? Please! Obviously not! If I were to actually list all the people I could potentially sleep with, the queue forming at the Divine Maiden Sect’s main training ground would probably wrap around the entire complex two and a half times, standing in perfect parade formation!”

Qing said it purely as a joke, a ridiculous exaggeration.

(However, if she actually did make such an announcement, a disturbingly similar scene would likely unfold. Not that Qing herself knew, or would even believe, this, of course.)

At Qing’s confident (though joking) reply, Tang Nanah’s expression immediately brightened, relief washing over her face.

Qing had unfortunately picked up several rather bad habits since arriving in the Central Plains, including some very undesirable tendencies related to the bedroom.

“W-What are you doing?!” Nanah shrieked, startled, as Qing casually started stripping off her outer robes upon entering Nanah’s bedroom. “Why are you undressing…?!”

“Huh?” Qing paused, looking genuinely confused. “Are we supposed to sleep with our clothes on? Why would we do that?”

“Huh?”

Nanah was rendered speechless again. Qing spoke as if sleeping naked with a new friend was the most obvious, logical common sense in the world, leaving Nanah no room to object.

Qing herself remained completely unaware of how much she had changed. She had long since reached a state where she felt absolutely no shyness or reservation around other women.

Running around half-naked constantly back at the Divine Maiden Sect had effectively obliterated her sense of bodily shame, and later, during her time living within the decadent Bliss Palace—especially during the period when she had completely lost her mind—she had come to accept being constantly attended to, bathed, and dressed by others as entirely natural and normal.

On the other hand, she wasn’t particularly shy around men either.

When she saw a woman, her thought process was simply: It’s just a woman’s body, so what? No big deal.

When she saw a man, it was: We’re just guys hanging out, so what? No big deal.

Wasn’t she also in that bizarre mental state back when her body was briefly stolen by that Heavenly Demon mental parasite earlier?

The Heavenly Demon’s projected mind had appeared in the form of the ancient First Generation Heavenly Demon, but Qing’s own subconscious had chosen the appearance of her game avatar, A-Qing, not the mundane production worker she had been before her journey into the martial world.

This was a profound aspect of her own transformed identity that Qing herself hadn’t yet consciously realized or perhaps even fully accepted.

In Eastern philosophical terms, one might explain it by saying the mind is like water and the body is merely the vessel; the water inevitably takes the shape of the vessel containing it.

In Western terms, one might try to add complex explanations involving hormones or psychology that someone with Qing’s liberal arts background likely couldn’t (or wouldn’t bother to) understand.

But since there wasn’t even a single person remaining in this world capable of explaining such concepts logically to her, the true nature of her current state would likely remain a distant, unexplored matter for the foreseeable future.

If Ximen Surin had known the full extent of Qing’s mental state, she probably would have beaten her own chest in utter frustration.

How could this half-witted fool, who can’t even properly define her own True Self, possibly hope to achieve the Transcendent Realm?!

The Transcendent Realm meant precisely that: transcending the Peak Realm.

And the Peak Realm represented the absolute highest point an individual could reach through purely personal effort. Therefore, achieving the Transcendent Realm required taking that first crucial step beyond oneself, overcoming one’s inherent limitations.

Only then could the mind, having conquered the self, potentially grasp the will of the stars, that distant starlight, and learn to wield it—the power known as Force (Ganggi).

The very character ‘Gang’ (罡) used in Sword Force (Geomgang) specifically referred to the constellation of the Big Dipper.

It was called Force because the most destructive power wielded by martial artists was believed to be derived from the will of those distant stars—the cold starlight emitted from the human perception of heaven, existing even without a sun.

(As a tragic aside related to linguistic evolution: back in Qing’s original homeland, primitive computer character encoding systems often couldn’t display the rare, specific Chinese character for ‘Big Dipper’ (罡). Consequently, they frequently substituted the visually similar, much more common character for ‘strong’ or ‘hard’ (剛) instead, leading to unfortunate mistranslations and misunderstandings that persisted for generations.)

Anyway, back in the luxurious Tang Clan guest bed, Qing casually rubbed her bare arms and legs against the smooth sheets, exclaiming in genuine admiration,

“Wow. This bed is amazing! Feels exactly like actual silk!”

“Well…” Nanah replied dryly, already tucked in primly on the far side, “…it is silk.”

In fact, it was likely the most expensive bed in all of Sichuan province; very few beds even in the entire Central Plains could compare to its quality and comfort.

Qing couldn’t help but admire its sheer luxuriousness.

“Is that so?” Qing murmured happily, snuggling down. “Well then, I’m going to sleep now, okay?”

“Wait!” Nanah protested again. “How can you just do that?! Shouldn’t we at least have some conversation first, or…?”

Qing thought, already half-asleep:

What the…? Seriously annoying…

“You should really only sleep when you’re in bed,” she mumbled tiredly. “If you start doing other things in bed habitually, it gets ingrained in your mind, messes with your sleep cycles, and eventually leads straight to sleep disorders, and then progresses to full-blown insomnia. It’s bad for you.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Nanah dismissed Qing’s pseudo-medical advice. “Forget it. Hey, Qing-ah…” she began tentatively, naturally slipping in the affectionate suffix now, “do you… perhaps have a lover? Or maybe a man you admire?”

Qing, being completely ignorant about the nuances of Central Plains terms of endearment, simply thought, Young Lady Peng called me that too, so it must just be a normal friendly thing.

“Nope, don’t have one,” she replied honestly.

“Huh? Really?” Nanah sounded surprised. “Then what about the Jade Qilin?”

“Him? He’s just a friend,” Qing stated flatly. “Besides, that guy doesn’t even like women.”

“Gasp!”

Tang Nanah inhaled sharply, eyes widening in shock.

To think there was such a scandalous secret surrounding the Most Handsome Man Under Heaven!

If Peng Daesan himself had heard Qing’s casual dismissal, he likely would have raised a single questioning eyebrow and lowered his voice several octaves into the depths of the abyss to inquire further.

But Peng Daesan wasn’t present.

And, as the old saying goes, you can even criticize the king himself when he’s not around.

(Though, one still generally avoided criticizing the actual Son of Heaven directly.)

“I thought so!” Nanah whispered excitedly. “There were always such rumors circulating, after all!”

“It’s not about rumors,” Qing retorted dismissively. “Can’t you just tell by looking at him?”

“But… when I saw him before…” Nanah frowned, thinking back. “Hmm? Wait… maybe you’re right? Huh… wait a minute… you are right!”

Tang Nanah had seen Peng Daesan once at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly held in Sichuan years ago, and again more recently at her own grandfather’s seventieth birthday celebration. But on those occasions, she, like most people, had been completely blinded by his ridiculously radiant appearance and hadn’t noticed anything else at all.

Thinking back on it carefully now, however… his gaze towards women had always seemed somewhat… disinterested? Detached?

And then, Tang Nanah suddenly felt a distinct chilling sensation creep over her skin—

No, wait! It’s actually just cold!

Cold autumn night air was steadily seeping in through the gap where the shared silk blanket didn’t quite reach her side of the enormous bed.

“Excuse me…” she whispered hesitantly towards Qing’s apparently sleeping form, “…can you please give me some of the blanket…?”

“Ah,” Qing mumbled sleepily without opening her eyes. “Gotten into the habit of rolling myself up like a burrito. Can’t we just use two separate blankets?”

“No!” Nanah insisted firmly. “You distinctly said the rule was ‘one bed, one blanket’! But… why? Doesn’t that mean we have to sleep really close together then? Why would we do that? Especially when this bed is so incredibly wide?”

In fact, sleeping closely huddled together was considered by some ancient scholars to be the very essence of demonstrating true fraternal/sororal affection.

But in the common sense of Tang Nanah, who had never experienced the rough-and-tumble communal living often found in the martial world, beds were naturally large objects, typically made spacious enough for at least ten people to lie down comfortably side-by-side.

She genuinely couldn’t help but wonder why they absolutely had to share only one blanket on such an enormous bed.

Of course, there was no way Qing would possibly know the answer to Nanah’s philosophical query.

But since it wasn't really a question seeking a genuine answer anyway, Qing just threw out the first random response that came to her sleep-addled mind.

“Maybe… maybe there are special extra-large blankets specifically designed for sharing between friends?”

“But then wouldn’t it be incredibly heavy?” Nanah countered logically. “And really stuffy?”

“Well,” Qing mumbled again, “if two people are supporting it together, isn’t the weight effectively halved?”

“Is that so?” Nanah pondered this dubious physics. “Maybe blankets come in different sizes depending on the number of people sharing them? Hmm. I should tell the servants to acquire some various sizes for future guest use.”

And so, they exchanged the kind of utterly nonsensical conversation that only complete idiots would likely engage in.

But isn't the back-and-forth of such pointless chatter often the very essence of conversations between new friends? Perhaps they were simply enjoying the process of getting closer.

“Hey! You! The blanket again! Seriously, let me use some of the blanket too, come on!”

“…”

At some point during Nanah’s struggles with the blanket hog, Qing’s breathing deepened into a steady, rhythmic wheeze, and her head lolled completely over, dead to the world.

Qing was, after all, a certified sleep expert, capable of quickly falling asleep even while being carried in Choi Leeong’s constantly swaying arms. So, nestled within this ridiculously soft, highest-quality silk bed that seemed to envelop her entire body in luxurious comfort… she had inevitably, completely passed out.

“What the…?” Nanah whispered incredulously. “Are you really asleep? Already?! Geez! Why is she so damn strong even when she’s sleeping?!” She tugged futilely at the blanket again. “I want some of the blanket too! It’s cold over here…!”

With Qing’s Xiang Yu-like [^(Legendary ancient warlord famed for immense strength)] grip firmly clamped onto the majority of the silk blanket even in sleep, Tang Nanah had absolutely no way to wrestle it back.

Consequently, she had no choice but to abandon the struggle and reluctantly inch closer to Qing’s sleeping form, seeking shared warmth.

Then, at some point later in the night, Nanah felt Qing shift beside her, a large movement as if turning over in her sleep. Suddenly, something heavy pressed down firmly across half of Nanah’s body.

Simultaneously, she felt hot breath tickling her earlobe, accompanied by soft, rhythmic wheezing sounds. Startled wide awake, Tang Nanah froze instantly, her entire body rigid with shock and sudden tension.

“Gasp! Hey! Hey…!” she whispered urgently into the darkness.

The next day, Tang Nanah’s complexion was noticeably haggard.

Of course, absolutely nothing unseemly or untoward had actually occurred during the night.

She had simply… not slept particularly well, leaving her feeling somewhat tired and drained.

Even as she entered the Tang Clan’s important strategy meeting—convened early that morning to discuss the final battle plan against the impending government investigation—she looked visibly exhausted.

Qing, naturally, also participated in the high-level meeting without giving it much thought, having been readily accepted now as virtually the clan’s honored benefactor and potential savior.